Kia’s Road Yacht to Surprise You

The Kia Opirus now hauls a larger, more powerful engine, and digs itself deeper to take on competition

When the flagship of Kia Motors arrived in Oman, people wondered why had Kia gone on to build a ‘large sized’ sedan. Not that they don’t have large cars – the Carens, Sorento and Carnival are big by all means – but Kia was better known for more affordable cars without any perceptible drop in QC. They gave competitors a run for their money, taken in their stride the design and ‘flavours’. Yet, public opinion changed quickly after they had just one look at the options that the Opirus provided. Simply put, it was ‘fully loaded’ and ‘lightly priced’.

Here, practically all car-brands aren’t older than 30 or so years. But Kia’s American strategy (Opirus was designed with the US market in mind) provides an insight of what they were aiming for: Kia is only some 10 years old in the US, and they had decided to bring in their flagship to compete against the likes of the Avalons, Accords and even Lincolns, if you’ll allow in terms of space. This was 20 years after Toyota brought in its Crown (no pun intended) to the Land of Opportunity. Gutsy, we’d say.

Meanwhile, Opirus did quite well around the world, with some people complaining about it being slow even with the earlier 3.5, V6. Then there were those who, as humans generally do, wanted more. Kia simply went ahead and gave it to them! At a price, you’d immediately counter – but we don’t think a RO500 increase is anything to even speak about.

So, what’s the change? Well, for starters, the motor; now bumped up by 300ml, the V6 pumps almost 270hp (at a non-American 6000rpm) and 260 foot-pounds of torque. This is more than required to make this car scary-fast. Kia claims a 32 per cent increase in horsepower over the outgoing 3.5-litre engine, but it also delivers a 9.4 per cent improvement in fuel economy in the city and 5.7 per cent on the highway.

More Comfort
We have always been impressed with the Opirus’ equipment levels, ample space and even its build quality. The interiors benefit from a genuine aluminium trim, with the black upholstery, and wood grain with the grey, and a very tidy presentation all through. Ideas borrowed from luxury brands can be found here and there (the BMW-style map pocket in the doors; the Mercedes-style power seat adjusters). The cabin is notably spacious, with excellent legroom. The seats are supportive and comfortable, and the leather seems high quality and has a pleasant texture and feel. The ride is very good and the car is virtually silent at highway speeds. The trunk is cavernous.

We tried our best to nit-pick classical trim issues, panel fits or even an odd misplaced switch. There wasn’t any. Then there is the list of gadgets from the Infinity sound system with 6-disc changer with steering controls, cruise-control, plenty of air-bags and even dual-exhausts. The ergonomics are near-perfect. However, the interior design has some way to go before anyone is actually impressed by the looks alone–they should start with the remote-buttons on the steering wheel. But overall the Opirus seems very well put together.

It even has chassis and suspension improvements altering its handling to quite an extent. Driving over the recent temporary road surfaces brought about no discomfort inside the cabin. The consequence is that the car has excessive body roll around corners. Overall, the Opirus’ road manners are acceptable, but more sporty buyers would have preferred last year’s tighter suspension setup. When it comes to braking, well, it is actually a better performer than the Japanese or American competition. There is the Electronic Stability Programme. This explains the lower amount of dive and squat, while braking and accelerating, even as it retain the cushion feel.

Although styling is a subjective quality, the dealers thankfully asked for the more elegant-looking grille than the cheese-grater style that was first intended – as with the US units. Incidentally, Kia recently announced they have hired former Audi/VW design chief, Peter Schreyer, to oversee the company’s domestic and international design functions. Expect this to further differentiate Kia from the competition (and from Hyundai) in the coming years.

While Kia may not be a luxury brand, they have produced a comprehensively equipped, full-size vehicle that drives very well and has many luxury features. With its long warranty and solid build quality, the Opirus is definitely worth a look if you’re in the market for a large, comfortable, vehicle at this price point.

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